The intersection of Tanzania as one of the world's poorest countries alongside its abundant natural resource wealth has fueled great interest and investment from both donors and the private sector. Tanzania is often held up as a good example of social harmony amidst an ethnically and religiously diverse country, with a stable and democratic political system. However, the country's rapid economic development in recent years is not spreading its benefits equally, and high rates of poverty continue to persist, especially in rural areas. A nascent but increasingly active civil society is beginning to challenge entrenched political and economic interests in an effort to promote greater accountability, social service provision and human development for the majority.

With roughly 75% of the population living in rural communities with inadequate access to social and financial services and transportation infrastructure, East Africa's largest nation still faces many development challenges that continue to hold down the poorest of the poor.

Stats

Population:

48,261,942 (July 2013 est.)

Size:

365,755 sq mi; slightly larger than twice the size of California

People Served:

1,428,615 (2013 est.)

History

In 1962, one year after Tanzania celebrated its independence, a devastating drought struck the Arusha region. In response, Catholic Relief Services provided food and non-food emergency relief rations and created economic recovery projects for 85,000 affected people. Since that initial effort, CRS Tanzania has continued to work closely with the Tanzania Episcopal Conference, other faith-based and peer organizations, government, and private partners and businesses. Today, the country program supports rural livelihood, health system and institutional strengthening, vulnerable children and youth, and integrated water resource management projects that interweave socioeconomic empowerment and gender transformation.

Partners

Christian Social Services Commission is Catholic Relief Services Tanzania's primary local partner in the AIDSRelief follow-on project, LEAD. Beginning in 2012 and through a phased strategy, Christian Social Services Commission will steadily assume full management of the HIV and AIDS care, support and treatment activities of the program in Mwanza, Mara, Manyara and Tanga regions.

Mwanza Outreach Care and Support Organization (MOCSO) is a Tanzanian nongovernmental organization operating in the Nyamagana District of Mwanza Region. Since 2002, they have been implementing Orphans and Vulnerable Children and Home-Based Care programming through small funds and as a sub-grantee on CRS' PEPFAR TUNAJALI program. MOCSO also provides general health and nutrition education to parents and caregivers of children under 5 and supports families to get vaccinations for their children, ensures HIV and malnutrition cases are referred to the appropriate service provider, advocates for children's rights through programs and network memberships, runs support groups for people with HIV or AIDS and runs breastfeeding clubs and orphans and vulnerable childres caregiver clubs. As one of CRS' implementing partners on THRIVE, MOCSO is conducting home visits to parents and caregivers of children under 5 to share and build greater understanding around early childhood development, to encourage practical positive parenting and to show parents simple ways to cognitively and physically stimulate their babies and very young children. Through THRIVE, MOCSO is also building a referral system between the community and health facilities with newly established early childhood development spaces and to make sure malnourished children identified during home visits are quickly referred to nutrition centers for care.

Programs

Soya Ni Pesa/USDA - CRS Tanzania's flagship agriculture initiative, Soya ni Pesa (Soybeans are Money), is a 4-year USDA Food for Progress funded project that is helping to position Tanzania as the leading producer, processor and exporter of soybeans in East Africa. Focused in the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor, CRS and our local implementing partners are working with a range of agriculture actors and collaborators along the soy value chain including small and medium holder farmers, agro-dealers, local aggregators, warehouse and market managers, feed millers and poultry enterprises in an effort to economically strengthen rural, poor households and better integrate them into markets.

The NAFAKA Staples Value Chain Activity is a five-year Task Order issued by USAID under the Tanzania Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative and administered by ACDI/VOCA. CRS Tanzania provides sub-contract services to ACDI/VOCA. CRS Tanzania is in charge of component 4, increased resilience of vulnerable communities and households. CRS works in three districts of Tanzania (Kilombero, Kiteto and Kongwa) and has sub-contracted Caritas Ifakara, Archdiocese of Arusha and Diocese of Dodoma to directly implement project activities in the three Districts. The CRS approach to working with vulnerable households includes a focus on the five smart skills that prepare the rural poor to successfully interact with markets. The entry point for working with the vulnerable households within Nafaka is in financial and group management skills, working through the Savings and Internal Lending Community (SILC) methodology. Building on the base of these two skill sets, CRS and its partners have begun to introduce sustainable production of vegetables and marketing skills, complemented by the cross-cutting skill of innovation. Through Nafaka CRS is also promoting gender and human rights training to group members, nutrition education, health and hygiene. The Nafaka project was awarded April 2014 and is expected to end March 2016.

Farmer-to-Farmer/USAID - CRS Tanzania is one of four East African countries implementing a five year USAID funded Farmer to Farmer program to promote sustainable economic growth, food security and agricultural development. The program uses U.S volunteers with agricultural expertise to share skills and help build capacity for the farmers through tailored short term training and technical assistance.

THRIVE/Conrad N. Hilton Foundation - THRIVE supports nearly 3,000 children under five, affected by HIV or AIDS, to reach their full potential. CRS is strengthening the ability of small community-based organizations to deliver holistic early childhood development services in their communities. Local partners work in partnership with health facilities and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission sites to provide positive parenting and health and nutrition mini-workshops. THRIVE has also established early childhood development friendly spaces within a selection of health facilities to provide opportunities for early stimulation among children under five. The early childhood development friendly spaces have become modeling centers for caregivers to strengthen their parenting skills and to form stable and responsive relationships with their children and one another.

Local Partners Excel in Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Service Delivery (LEAD)/Center for Disease Control (CDC) - The LEAD project is a follow-on project to AIDSRelief which supports quality HIV care and treatment, TB/HIV and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission services in Mara, Manyara and Tanga Regions. The LEAD project works with the National AIDS Control Program, RHMTs, and CHMTs and Faith-Based Organizations to strengthen local capacities and enhance local ownership in provision of comprehensive HIV care and support, including use of antiretroviral therapy. The key program areas covered are: Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission, adult care and support, adult treatment, pediatric care and support, pediatric treatment, TB/HIV and laboratory infrastructure. The overall goal of the LEAD project is to ensure people with HIV or AIDS and their families experience improved health and well-being. To achieve this goal, the LEAD project is focusing on the following key strategic objectives:

People with HIV or AIDS and their families have expanded access to HIV care, treatment and support services.

Local partners provide quality HIV care and support.

Government partners provide quality HIV care and support services beyond the life of the project.

Wellspring of Hope - CRS is implementing Wellspring of Hope, a 5-year integrated water resource management project in 7 villages of Karatu and 2 villages of Longido Districts in the Arusha region. With our local partners, government and the community members, CRS' integrated water resource management program has steadily reduced the vulnerability to water-related shocks by adopting a whole ecosystem approach. The project focuses on the rehabilitation and preservation of micro-catchment areas to improve people's quality of life and to ease conflicts arising from increasingly limited arable lands.

The WASH program aims at improving health and well-being of children and their families in in selected communities in Arusha, Manyara, Dodoma and Mbeya Regions. The program increases access to adequate clean water supply and improved sanitation, and helps establish hand-washing facilities and sustainable community and school water, sanitation and hygiene services in selected communities in Karatu, Longido, Chamwino, Bahi, Kongwa, Mbeya Rural and Mbarali districts.
The WASH program, working in collaboration with other WASH partners , is committed to improving water and sanitation coverage. The program trains hygiene workers to promote behavior change and supports water user committees and other groups to advocate for the district to support hygiene practices as part of good nutrition. The program aims to enhance capacity of local government authorities and community institutions like Village Health Workers, and COWSOs to support optimal care practices for maternal and infant and young child nutrition, WASH and early child development.